Shoutbox

When you stack things up, the Macbook is worth it, I did a quick comparison of a Macbook and a Dell XPS M1330. IMHO, the Macbook wins.

Example:
Macbook 2.4ghz - $1599
Dell XPS M1330 - Near Identical specs, $1523

It always bugs me when people go "Oh why pay so much extra for a Mac when you can get a nice dell for $800". It's BS. Granted, you have pretty limited options as far as customizing the hardware, but the Macs are very nice machines. And if you can get it with a student discount, they are that much cheaper.

The really nice features of the new macbook that are worth the extra $76? Illuminated Keyboard, Magsafe power adapter (this is worth it's weight in gold), Great base software package, Multi-touch trackpad (you'd think it's kind of gimmicky, but it's very useful), solid metal case (very solid build quality), Generally better battery life (This has been true with every mac I've owned, from my old iBook to my latest Macbook, they smoke the battery life of comparable PC's without the need for a giant battery bulge).

On top of that, all the components are easy to access and it performs very well. And any system that does virtualization that well is a big plus in my book (I usually run three OSs at once. OS X, Windows 7, and Server 2008)

(edit)
The other thing to keep in mind, If you look at a laptop like the M1530 or alike, most have an almost identical screen resolution to their 13" counter parts (1280x800). So all you are gaining with a 15" model is larger pixels and usually a keyboard with a few extra keys, though usually the same size as the 13". Oh, and they tend to weigh a few extra pounds.
(/edit)

btw, My major gripe about the XPS 1330/1530 is the fact the battery bulges out at the bottom to fit in extra battery cells. This is also true with many other laptops these days, They bulge out the battery pack to fit more cells, but it makes the laptops a little bit of an odd shape. And yes, I am aware that you can get them with a smaller battery, but the smaller batteries run time is practically useless in my opinion compared to a Macbook which acomplishes usually a better runtime then a PC with a extended life battery without the bulge.

quote:

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Originally posted by wj
When you stack things up, the Macbook is worth it, I did a quick comparison of a Macbook and a Dell XPS M1330. IMHO, the Macbook wins.

Example:
Macbook 2.4ghz - $1599
Dell XPS M1330 - Near Identical specs, $1523

It always bugs me when people go "Oh why pay so much extra for a Mac when you can get a nice dell for $800". It's BS. Granted, you have pretty limited options as far as customizing the hardware, but the Macs are very nice machines. And if you can get it with a student discount, they are that much cheaper.

The really nice features of the new macbook that are worth the extra $76? Illuminated Keyboard, Magsafe power adapter (this is worth it's weight in gold), Great base software package, Multi-touch trackpad (you'd think it's kind of gimmicky, but it's very useful), solid metal case (very solid build quality), Generally better battery life (This has been true with every mac I've owned, from my old iBook to my latest Macbook, they smoke the battery life of comparable PC's without the need for a giant battery bulge).

On top of that, all the components are easy to access and it performs very well. And any system that does virtualization that well is a big plus in my book (I usually run three OSs at once. OS X, Windows 7, and Server 2008)

(edit)
The other thing to keep in mind, If you look at a laptop like the M1530 or alike, most have an almost identical screen resolution to their 13" counter parts (1280x800). So all you are gaining with a 15" model is larger pixels and usually a keyboard with a few extra keys, though usually the same size as the 13". Oh, and they tend to weigh a few extra pounds.
(/edit)

btw, My major gripe about the XPS 1330/1530 is the fact the battery bulges out at the bottom to fit in extra battery cells. This is also true with many other laptops these days, They bulge out the battery pack to fit more cells, but it makes the laptops a little bit of an odd shape. And yes, I am aware that you can get them with a smaller battery, but the smaller batteries run time is practically useless in my opinion compared to a Macbook which acomplishes usually a better runtime then a PC with a extended life battery without the bulge.

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Thanks for that. I'm definitely getting a Macbook. Unfortunately my mom's friend was on a business trip and just got back recently, so I don't know which one I'm getting (cause if we get them way cheaper I might as well get a more powerful one )

quote:

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Originally posted by wj

(edit)
The other thing to keep in mind, If you look at a laptop like the M1530 or alike, most have an almost identical screen resolution to their 13" counter parts (1280x800). So all you are gaining with a 15" model is larger pixels and usually a keyboard with a few extra keys, though usually the same size as the 13". Oh, and they tend to weigh a few extra pounds.
(/edit)

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Actually, with the M1530 you can pick different screens. The cheapest one has 1280x800 (which is pretty low), but the one I bought has a native resolution of 1920x1200. Try and beat that

quote:

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Originally posted by wj

btw, My major gripe about the XPS 1330/1530 is the fact the battery bulges out at the bottom to fit in extra battery cells. This is also true with many other laptops these days, They bulge out the battery pack to fit more cells, but it makes the laptops a little bit of an odd shape. And yes, I am aware that you can get them with a smaller battery, but the smaller batteries run time is practically useless in my opinion compared to a Macbook which acomplishes usually a better runtime then a PC with a extended life battery without the bulge.

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That's just a trade-off. My M1530 does about 2:30h on the normal un-bulged battery, while it does 4:30h with the bulge one. For normal use I just put in the small one, but when I go on long travels or train rides I take the bigger one.

I just got a Dell Studio XPS 1640 and I think its pretty cool. It does have its pros and cons. If you want to talk about it, we can do so over WLM when you're free

As for getting a mac, I did look at the MacBook Pro 15 and thought it was cool (I did so after ordering my Dell )

Edit: Just noticed we're comparing machines now. Well, I was going to go for the Dell XPS M1530 (it is amazing!) but when I called Dell up to place an order, the guy on the Sales team told me that they were shutting down the line and he suggested the Dell Studio XPS 1640 instead. Though a bit pricy, it is pretty good on performance (which is what I was looking for tbh).
And I agree with TB, the M1530 beats the MacBook Pro

TB: one question. How does the 1080p screen look? can you give me a desktop screenshot? I had a chance to upgrade the screen though it costed 10K INR more (which is a lot since I'm already paying 76K INR for the laptop).
I got the 720p and that looks pretty good. The normal DVDRip movies I had would have looked crap on a 1080p so I just stuck with the 720p
My parents just about didn't mind me paying twice as much for this laptop as a "normal one" (the ones most people here get cost around 35-40K INR) so I didn't want to push it further, even though I'm paid for the entire thing

I don't think I have you on WLM, do I? If not I'll pm you my addy later.

Anyhow, my mom's friend offered me a 25% discount, so I don't know. Might still get something else if I find it better than the apple I chose.. if I don't decide soon though I'll just get the mac.

Do you want performance?

You can get an alienware m15x from as low as $1100.

I just specced one out to 2k, and you could get 9800gt graphics card (fastest graphics card in a 15 inch laptop), 2.5 dual core 6mb cache, 500gb hardrive (up to 1tb), and a 1440x900 (can upgrade to 1920x900) resolution all for $1900.

Downside: It's quite a brick

One of the main upsides: Graphical power, Has smartbay, which means you can easily add another battery, harddrive, blu-ray drive, just by sliding it into the side.
The battery life on it is amazing for such a powerhouse. I get 6 hours when intergrated.
Oh and the cool lights

I've a pretty powerful computer, so I'm mainly looking for a lightweight, efficient laptop. I want it to be powerful too, but not too much, if you know what I mean.

get a thinkpad

quote:

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Originally posted by ShawnZ
get a thinkpad

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.

I was wondering, does anyone know any laptop with the "same" specs as the 2.4ghZ mac (or better), $1600 or less?

I'm still not sure if I want to buy the mac. If I don't get any responses I'll just buy it tomorrow though